Japan to shut down pirated anime and manga websites

We don’t like being the bearers of bad news, but it seems that the Japanese Government is making a move that might break a few hearts. In a report published by The Philippine Daily Inquirer, 30 Japanese publishers backed by the government will request operators of about 300 online sources for anime and manga to shut down their sites.

While free things are nice, the anime and manga industry is experiencing a decline due to the number of copyrighted works available online. To compensate for the void this will create in the lives of fans, the government and the publishers are planning on opening a paid website where authorized versions of popular works would be available.